


Cults make for strange bedfellows.

by DarkAngel2891



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale whump, BAMF Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley Was Not Raphael Before Falling (Good Omens), Crowley Whump (Good Omens), Cults, Cults are the worst, Demon Summoning, Gabriel isn't a complete ass, He's just a prick, Heaven and Hell help us, Hurt/Comfort, Impossible Situation, M/M, Minor Character Death, No right answer, Non-Canonical Violence, Not Canon Compliant, Protective Gabriel, Slavery, Trapped, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 09:27:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 16,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22429435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkAngel2891/pseuds/DarkAngel2891
Summary: What happens when you get trapped by a cult with the last person you want to see?This will not be the only chapter, I'll post a proper chapter tomorrow.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley & Gabriel (Good Omens)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 93





	1. We meet again.

**Author's Note:**

> Gabriel is summoned and trapped by a cult, he also happens to be trapped with the last being he wants to deal with right now. To top it all off all off this is looking frightfully familiar.  
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Note the Crowley & Gabriel tag does not refer to a sexual relationship. More frienimies than anything.

It had been a very long day in Heaven. Meetings upon meetings and by the time Gabriel got to relax there was this strange buzzing sound. He called for maintenance to check his lights after he was unable to miracle the sound away. He sat in his chair and pressed his eyes trying to will away the buzzing noise. 

As two angels entered they bowed and he waved his hand in return. They worked for a couple of minutes before one of them spoke. 

"Umm excuse me Gabriel?" The smaller one asked. 

"Yes?" 

"Daireal 8th choir." She supplied.

"Yes Daireal. What seems to be the problem?" He looked at her, she seemed to be very nervous to speak to an Archangel. 

"We've inspected all the lights but none of them are out of order." She said the buzzing was getting louder.

"But the noise? It seemed like it w-. Ouch." Gabriel suddenly felt a painful pinch. The other two angels stared not sure what to do. Gabriel felt more pinching and suddenly he was bent double. Before he could tell them to go get Raphael his office vanished. 

His eyes adjusted to the dim light of the room. He was in a concrete room, in a summoning circle. He groaned as he got up and heard someone shift next to him. 

"Well shit, I'd say it's good to see you again but we both know that's a lie." A snarky voice carried towards him, the world was spinning. 

"Crowley?" He saw familiar red hair and the world tipped as he passed out.


	2. Earth 331 BCE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angels and Demons are going missing, Crowley finds himself whisked away in his sleep and Gabriel is on earth looking for an oddly silent Aziraphale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story will follow two timelines.  
The first time Gabriel and Crowley are trapped together they don't really know each other yet. The second time around it's old news, kind of like running into an old co-worker who you hung out with just because both of you were stuck in the same place.

Crowley was sleeping. His daily tasks finished he had nothing better to do, on the table was a scroll that he'd open tomorrow. He felt a strange twinge and shifted in his sleep thinking he was just in a funny position. Turning over he yawned when a felt a sharp pinch. He sat up and inspected his bedroll, it knew better than to allow parasites and vermin to bite him. As he bent low to check every corner he felt a sudden wave of vertigo. He pitched over and everything vanished.

Gabriel was on earth. He was looking for Aziraphale, weeks had gone by and he hadn't heard from him. This wasn't normal what is even less normal is that angels from the lower choirs are missing as well. Just under 50 are gone having vanished from their stations. They couldn't find anything on them and the only angel with enough knowledge to figure it out was silent after replying to the scroll asking him to do reconnaissance. Gabriel was staring at the strange lodgings of the Principality. It looks like he has been gone for awhile judging from the pile of unopened scrolls on the table. He calls out for the pudgy angel. 

"Aziraphale!" 

No response, he tries again. 

"Aziraphale! Come out now." Still nothing. 

It's possible that whatever took the other angels has Aziraphale as well. Gabriel tries to feel for him but is stopped when he feels a pinch. It's followed by a buzzing noise, The world spins as he vanishes into the night. His eyes open up to a dimly lit room and he's not the only one in it. There's a group of humans surrounding him and a red-headed figure behind them. The redhead's face looked terrified at the sight of him. The humans were chattering excitedly. 

"It worked!" One cried out. 

"Go fetch Father he'll be overjoyed." Another gestured to one standing in the back. 

"We're this much closer to success." A grey haired one approached him. 

"Welcome Angel of Heaven Gabriel." He said.

"What's going on? Who are you?" He asked taking in the scene around him. He seemed to be in a circle with ancient runes on it. It looked to be carved into the stone floor itself.

"We are an ancient order seeking the truth of the universe." The grey haired one spoke. The redhead snorted. 

"Ok... I need to go now I have things to do." Gabriel tried to walk out of the circle and was met with an invisible wall. 

"What the!" He pressed his hand against the invisible wall, it felt alive almost. It buzzed under his touch, no matter how hard he pushed it would not yield to him. 

"Why can't I leave?" He stared at the grey haired one who eyes were lit up with manic glee. 

"It holds! This is wonderful, soon our plans will be complete." 

Gabriel was growing tired of this. 

"Human, I request that you release me now." 

The grey haired one laughed.

"No I don't think we will." 

"I am an Archangel, I will not be held captive by you and your brethren. Release me now!" 

"I think not, not when we're so close. Besides it is not I who wants you." Grey hair stepped back as the wooden door swung open. A white haired man dressed in gold and finery walked in. 

"Good, good Elonio. The circles hold them?" 

The white haired man said turning to the grey haired one. 

"Yes Father it holds them both." Elonio grinned.

"Welcome my guests I'm sure you are tired from your journeys" Gabriel stared over at the redhead. "I know you have many questions. There will be time to explain your purpose later. For now let me introduce myself. I am Neivo, High Priest of Babylon. You are of course the Archangel Gabriel and The Fallen Lucifer." 

The redhead snorted, the man ignored him. 

"I don't care who you are, release me NOW!" Usually it works, usually his voice carries with it the power to control and order others around. But he felt strangely powerless, he looked at the runes closely. Some were made to trap and bind his powers, to drain him and keep him weak. 

The priest smiled at this. 

"Good to know that they work. Now Elonio fetch the brands." He commanded. 

"Right away Father." Elonio left as the priest walked over to the redhead. 

"The mighty Fallen Lucifer. They said Satan was beautiful." He reached out to stroke the demon's face. The demon drew back and grabbed the hand away from his face. 

"I'm not Lucifer, you idiot." The redhead snarled. 

"Hmm, I doubt that." The priest smacked him across the face with his free hand. 

The demon stumbles back and in retaliation twists the priest hand. Suddenly the runes flash red and the demon is screaming on the floor. 

"I wouldn't try that again, do you think that you two are the first ones we've summoned?" He smiled as the demon shook away the pain. 

"If both of you direct your attention to the runes on the circle and walls of this room, you would notice that you can't harm any humans who enter here. So I wouldn't try to if I were you. The runes also prevent you from disobeying an order." 

The door swung open and two men brought in a stone box filled with burning coals and a rod of metal was sticking out of it. The demon shuddered at the sight, and Gabriel had a feeling that this wasn't going to be pleasant. 

"Now, Demon Lord. We'll start with you. Disrobe." The priest commanded

"No." The demon refused to bow to a human. 

"I wasn't asking, disrobe." The priests voice grew stern. The runes flashed a warning at the demon.

"Once again, if you pay attention to the runes. you would understand that you're not allowed to say no. If you do things will get messy very quickly." He had a twisted smile like he was looking forward to seeing this. 

"Fine arsssehole." The demon took off his robe not letting it fall past his waist. He was trying to maintain some modicum of dignity.

The men walked up to his circle and picking up the rod forced him on to his knees. The demon for his part did not scream, he just sat there as they burned the sigil into his chest. When it was said and done with they turned to Gabriel. 

"You're turn, disrobe and hold still." The priest commanded. 

"Why?" Gabriel stared him in the eyes. The runes flashed a warning. 

"You two are very strong willed, not that we can't break it. You are going to be a part of a glorious destiny, Now do as I command." 

Gabriel did not back down and the runes flared. Suddenly he was on the floor screaming in agony as every cell in his body felt like it was on fire. He didn't know how long he was screaming but it stopped at some point. Shaken by it he barely felt the two men strip him and hold him in place. He tried to fight but the runes flashed a warning, not wanting to go through that again he decided to just hold still. They pressed the brand into his chest and it was actually an improvement on the previous pain. 

They finally pulled away and dropped him. He glared at them as they watched him struggle to get up. His robes cast aside, he felt very exposed.

"Those brands were specially chosen just for you two. They're some of the strongest sigils ever recorded. They bind you here and if you're smart you'll pay attention to the meaning. Now we must leave for more preparations are needed. Soon enough we will have the tower ready and the final ceremony will be completed." 

With that the humans left. Gabriel was still recovering from the shock, he reached for his robes only to be stopped by the circle. The robes had been tossed into the other side of the room. The demon watched him as he tried to miracle the robes to him but the brand burned him.

He winced in sympathy as Gabriel screamed. The robes were close to him though, with a small corner just barely sticking into his circle. He reached out and grabbed the edge of the fabric. Pulling it into his circle he bunched it up and tossed it to Gabriel. Gabriel just grunted in response. 

"Lookss like we're sstuck here." The demon said poking at his own brand. 

"Who are you? I know you're not Lucifer, don't think I'd forget what he looks like." Gabriel voice was scratchy and tired. 

"You really think I'm going to give an Archangel my name? Even the dumbessst demon in Hell knows that namess have power." The demon shook his head. 

"I didn't ask for your true name, I just asked for your name. If I'm going to be stuck here with you I'd like to know what to call you. Unless you just want me to call you demon filth the entire time." Gabriel looked him in his eyes, the demons eyes were very animal like. Yellow irises with slit pupils, The demon groaned out loud. 

"Fine, but I'll only give you the name humans know me by and nothing else." He looked tired and annoyed. "It'ss Crowley." 

"Crowley? Why is that name familiar?" Gabriel pondered. 

"Well I'm not going to tell you anything else. Ssso make do with that, sshut up and let me ssleep." Crowley laid back in his circle and stared up at the ceiling. 

"Sleep? What is sleep?" Gabriel asked and Crowley just groaned.

"It's when you allow your brain to turn off for a time. Nothing elsse to do." Crowley yawned. 

"You're really not going to try and find a way out? Surely you're not enjoying this. Or maybe you are, you demons are weird." 

Crowley just grunted and rolled over. 

"If you would pull your head down to earth for a few minutess you would notice that we're sssurrounded by runes that are created to drain our energy. You'll probably want to try and get some rest to if you want to figure out how to get out of here. We can't do anything right now but wait it out. Might as well passs the time ignoring the world." Crowley hissed out. 

Gabriel just leaned back and sighed this demon didn't seem to care or have any self preservation skills. He decided to figure it out on his own. Let the demon stay behind and deal with these humans. It would be one less demon for Heaven to be concerned about. 

_ "Crowley, Crowley. Why do I know that name?"  _ Gabriel thought to himself. He looked around the circle, whoever had done this either knew what they were doing or they had no confidence. The binding and trapping runes were repeated over and over again. Not just in the circles but on the walls as well, it's like they went overboard to make sure that whatever being was called here would be stuck here.

Gabriel shouted in anger kicking out at the circle's edge and yelped at the pain when his foot collided with the wall.

"You're jusst making it worsse, but pleasse by all means exhuast yoursself completely. That'll make it easier for them to do whatever they want to you." 

Gabriel gave up and sat down, nothing he could do but wait for the humans to return. They're so talkative it shouldn't be hard to weasel some kind of information out of them. He laid back and allowed himself to feel the exhaustion pulling at him. He copied the demon and closed his eyes, finding himself slip into a trance like state. He would have to figure out how to get the demon to help him later, for now he would rest. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 331 BCE storyline is going to be much darker than the modern day one. So be prepared for some serious Whumping from those chapters. Kudos and Comments are enjoyed and Constructive criticism is welcome.


	3. Earth 2020

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Swing back to modern times, cults are just the worst aren't they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three chapters in one day? Well when you've been up since 5:30 because you're feeling like shit but your brain won't shut off you come up with ways to entertain yourself.

Gabriel awoke to a much more stable world, he sat up and looked around him. He was in a concrete room, in a summoning circle. Runes written in black markings. He stuck his hand out and tried to rub it away only to be met with a sharp sting. 

"Yeah I tried that, it's permanent marker. Not going away unlesss you happen to have sssome kind of cleaner on you." Crowley hissed from the circle next to him. Gabriel met his gaze, it was preferable to other options.

"Why are you naked?" He asked. 

"I'm not naked! I'm wearing knickerss ain't I?" Crowley pointed at his blue boxers they had little green snakes on them. 

"Ok, why are you only wearing knickers?" Gabriel snapped back. 

Crowley blushed beet red. 

"Ngk, I was asleep. Yes! I was asleep when our lovely hosts decided to call upon me." He sputtered out. 

Gabriel raised an eyebrow but let it drop, instead choosing to focus on other things. 

"Have you met our hosts yet?" He asked taking in the sparse room they were in. 

No furniture, no windows, only a single door and light fixtures on the ceiling. The circles were filled with disturbingly familiar runes, once again it seemed like whoever had them went to the trouble to make sure they couldn't get out.

"They were here while ssummoning you but they didn't speak to me at all. They left after you passed out. Probably will come back when they realize that you're awake." Crowley looked tired dark circles under his eyes. 

"And how long have you been here?" Gabriel asked. 

"Not quite sure, they ssummoned you not to long after I showed up. But. There's no windowss in the blasted place so I can't tell." 

Crowley was pondering something. He turned to Gabriel. 

"How likely is it that not only would they have my true name but also yours?" There was a hint of dread in his voice. 

"Not likely considering that there's only supposed to be one book that has the true names of angels in it." Gabriel reflected his dread. 

"And that book was presumed destroyed, but did anyone actually confirm that it was indeed destroyed?" Tension was rising in Crowley's voice. 

"I don't think Heaven did, we were kind of pissed off about that place." Gabriel sucking his teeth. It was true Heaven was so angry and appalled at what happened there the damned book was shoved to the wayside. 

"I don't think Hell did either, mind you I just received a second hand account of how it all went down. I know Hastur was dead set on burning everything. Can't really blame him though what those bastards did." Crowley's face darkened upon remembering that wretched place.

As they brooded in their own minds they heard footsteps approach the door. It swung open to a group of humans in green robes who came pouring in. The humans grouped together just out of reach of the circles, Gabriel smiled at them and with false politeness began to ask questions. 

"Howdy, might I ask what lead you to call us here?" He smiled that fake retail smile. 

A few of the humans giggled and grabbed each other. One of them stepped forward their robe seemed to be trimmed in white indicating their superiority to the others. 

"Welcome, Angel Gabriel and Fallen Lucifer." 

They spoke.

Crowley groaned. 

"We are so happy to have you here. Your presence is the key to destiny." The leader sounded very happy. 

"This shit again?! Arrgh, for someone's sake I'm going to hunt down every blasted copy of the Bible and stamp it in bright red bold print letters that I'm not bloody Lucifer!" Crowley snarled getting up and pacing. 

"You're not?" The leader asked quizzically. 

"No I'm not, why does everyone think that? Lucifer isn't even mentioned in the Bible until Isaiah!" He gestured wildly and stalked around the edge of his circle.

"But you are the Serpent of Eden? The original sin, the Prince of darkness and Lord of Lies! The original deceiver!" The leader stepped back sounding annoyed. 

"Only one correct but don't worry, there's still the bonus round. I am the Serpent of Eden. But the Bible never said that the Sserpent was the devil. Hell it never even sssaid that the Ssserpent was a demon. I was never Lucifer, I just hung around him too much." Crowley was fuming having little patience for all of this. 

"Umm excuse us for a moment." The leader turned back to the group and they whispered among each other. 

They looked back at the Archangel and Serpent. Whispered some more and then turned to address them once again. 

"It seems as though we have made an error, no matter the plan should still work out with the two of you. After all you two are some of the most important beings of the Bible." The leader said nervously.

"And what your great plan for us?" Gabriel asked getting readily annoyed. 

"On the new moon we will seek to unite the Kingdoms of Heaven and Hell. Rejoining what was torn asunder and restoring the universe to the rightful order." The rest of the members cheered at this some of them giggling. 

"Right, and how do you plan to do that?" Gabriel looked at Crowley who couldn't seem to figure out what the hell they were on about either. 

"Why through marriage of course!" A member in the back replied before giggling and being shushed by the others. 

Gabriel and Crowley stared stone faced at each other. Taking deep breaths they both replied. 

"WHAT!!!"

* * *

Aziraphale got into the Bentley with his books and the two of them headed off towards Tadfield. After Crowley disappeared from their bedroom he called Anathema to help him with tracking spells. He was going to find whoever stole his demon and kick some serious butt.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be a mix of Book-Canon and Show-Canon so don't get tetchy. Kudos and Comments are enjoyed and Constructive criticism is welcome. Also check the tags.


	4. Babylon 331 BCE: Aziraphale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aziraphale gets a notice from heaven to keep an eye out for missing angels, then he dissapears as well.
> 
> "They won't exactly tell us, just that it's part of some great destiny. I pray and pray for God to come for us but I don't think she can hear us from here." Coriel let out a small sob. 
> 
> "No, She has, That's why I'm here. I just need to find a way to get a hold of Gabriel and we can fr--!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is set a few weeks before Crowley and Gabriel show up. It details what happened to Aziraphale. 
> 
> CW and TW extreme torture and verbal abuse.

"Wake UP!" A rough voice called out throwing a bucket of water on Aziraphale. 

He startled and sat up holding his head, he pulled his hand away and was met with his own golden ichor. Looking down at himself he was half naked, his chest had sigils burned into it. He was aching all over and he was in chains.

"I said get up!" The voice called again grabbing him and pulling him up by his hair. 

Aziraphale cried out at the pain. 

"Stop, what do you want with me?" 

His hands grasped at the one tangled in his hair. Aziraphale wondered if he was in Hell. Despair and terror were rich in the air here, it certainly felt like he thought Hell would.

"Look at me." 

He did, looking up at the man holding him. It was just a human man. No devil, nor demon. He was holding a whip in one hand. A jug was attached to his waist by a rope, he could feel a holy presence from it. 

"You are now the property of Neivo, high priest of Babylon." The hand finally released him. 

"I most certainly am not! Now I don't know what you want but I insist you let me go."

Aziraphale voice grew stern. He would have no patience for this human and their games. He was backhanded, he felt it more than he should have. 

"You will not speak out of turn, you are here for a purpose and you will obey us in order to fulfill that purpose." 

Aziraphale rationalized that he would have to miracle himself free, He glared at the human raised his hand and snapped. He was met with a burning sensation and collapsed screaming as his every nerve felt like it was on fire. It was over just as soon as it started taking deep breaths Aziraphale stared up at the man. The man wore a sadistic smile reaching down he yanked Aziraphale up again. 

"I wouldn't try that again, now let me explain to you what's going on before you are assigned your work. These marks on your chest force you to obey, they bind your powers to us, so no escaping, no magic tricks unless we want you to and best of all." He smacked him again. "No fighting back or causing harm to any of us." 

He dragged him to a large clay pot filled to the brim with water. 

"Bless it." The man commanded. 

"Why?" Aziraphale was tired and confused as to why this man needs Holy Water. Especially when he has some on him anyways. 

"I said bless it, now do as I say or you'll regret it." He held the whip up threateningly. 

"Yes, you did but I still would like to know why." Aziraphale was trying to covertly push for information. 

"I don't need to explain myself to you, you do as you're told. Last warning bless it or you'll be put into the Pit." 

Aziraphale gave in and blessed the pot hoping to God that he could figure out what's going on here. This must be connected to the missing angels, he had followed the trail of summoning magic he picked up until he came upon a city. The city had a large tower piercing the sky. The tower had captivated him drawing his eye as he walked towards it. He had never seen such a building on earth before. So focused was he on it that he didn't notice the men slipping up behind him. Something had slammed into the back of his head and he collapsed.

The man dragged Aziraphale through the halls pulling him into a larger foyer and Aziraphale almost vomited at what he saw. 

Slaves. Humans, angels even demon. All chained and bound, all working on building the tower. Some passed by him and he noticed that the demons and angels had the same brands on them as he did. Although the demons had extra. He briefly recognized an angel who was being forced to drag a heavy stone up a ramp. It was Coriel, an angel from his old choir. The poor creature looked like they were going to collapse. The man pushed Aziraphale forward towards a table. A portly man sat there with an abacus and writing on some paper, the man looked up as they approached. 

"New recruit?" He said with a vicious smirk.

"We didn't even have to summon this one, walked right into the city. Didn't realize it was an angel until we saw the blood." The man with the whip replied. 

"Hmm a bit on the pudgy side. Didn't know angels could be pudgy." He said standing up and circling Aziraphale. 

Aziraphale felt very uncomfortable and exposed he tried to hide his body with his hands. Only to have them slapped away. 

"Go to that pallet and lift as many bricks as you can." Portly pointed towards a pile next to the table. 

Aziraphale scowled at this but didn't want to risk further pain. He went over and picked up the entire thing, he stared back at the men and with a single hand threw them all against the wall. The bricks crumbled into dust. Aziraphale smiled at this small victory, but whip guy came up and cracked the whip across his shoulders. He cried out falling to his knees. Portly came over laughing. 

"Now that's a strong one, try not to damage it too much Neit we can't guarantee that the next one will be as strong." He was grinning.

They pulled Aziraphale back to his feet and unlocked the chains around his ankles. Pushing him towards another man they set him to work lifting heavy stones and taking them to the top. 

Aziraphale passed more slaves on the way, there were more humans than demons and more demons than angels. All of them looked haggard and exhausted, many on the verge of collapse. 

Aziraphale could feel the absolute despair and it weighed him down more than the stone he carried. He had to find a way out of here, he had to get word to heaven, he climbed all the way to the top and handed the stone off to two demons. They grabbed it and began to move it into place. 

"Umm excuse me." He began. 

The one with a chameleon on his head looked up at him. 

"What?! Can't yu see we're busy." He growled out. 

"Of course I was just wondering if you know a way out of here?" Aziraphale asked. 

The chameleon let out a tired laugh. 

"No way out fo yu angels. They'll keep till yu drop. Then toss yu into the cells tell yu can work again. Now get out o here befo they catch yu talking, unless you want to experience the Pit" He grumbled.

Aziraphale frowned but walked away heading back down to the lowest floor. He tried talking to more of the ones he saw but they all ignored him or hissed at him to go away. It was only until he ran into Coriel on their way back up that he was able to talk to someone. 

"Coriel!" He whispered urgently. The angel looked at him shifted their eyes around and dragged him into a small alcove. They covered his mouth as some demons passed by. 

"Aziraphale?! Is it really you?" Their voice was tired and small, as if they had worn it out. 

"Yes, I was sent by heaven to look for the missing angels. Foolish of me to not approach this damned place more carefully." Aziraphale sniffed.

"It's ok, I don't think any of us expected to be able to be trapped by humans." Coriel laid their small hand on his shoulder. It was thin and rough. 

"What on Earth do they want us for? Why do they need angels and demons for it?" Aziraphale asked. 

"They won't exactly tell us, just that it's part of some great destiny. I pray and pray for God to come for us but I don't think she can hear us from here." Coriel let out a small sob. 

"No, She has, That's why I'm here. I just need to find a way to get a hold of Gabriel and we can fr--!" Aziraphale was stopped in the middle of his sentence as he was yanked back. Neit smiled at him as Coriel let out a whimper of fear. 

"Back to work, next time I see you sitting still it'll be the Pit for you." 

Coriel ran off without a single word. They cast an apologetic look back at Aziraphale before disappearing. 

"You come with me." Neit pulled on his chains as Aziraphale stumbled to keep up. 

He said nothing as he dragged him through the halls, stopping before a heavy looking wooden door. Neit knocked on it and it opened, he tossed Aziraphale onto the ground in front of a man decked out in robes of white and adorned with gold. 

"Father Neivo." Neit knelt before him.

"Yes my child? What brings you here?" The man returned. 

"I bring you this angel, it seems to know of Gabriel and I thought it would be helpful in your endeavors." Neit gestured to Aziraphale. 

Father Neivo bent down and grabbed Aziraphale by the face. 

"Is it true, do you know the Archangel Gabriel? Tell me, do you know of his true name? 

His breath smelled of rotting flesh and blood. 

"It is an angels duty to be familiar with the highest of the heavenly hosts. But I do not know him personally." Aziraphale never lied before but he couldn't let this man have any information. 

"Hmm, why does it feel like you're lying to me? I don't like liars." Father Neivo wore a face of false pity. He gestured to Neit's whip. 

"Please, I'm only a Principality. I don't know the names of the Archangels." Aziraphale quailed in fear. 

"I doubt that. Neit!" Father Neivo gestured towards the man. 

Neit grabbed Aziraphale's chains and dragged him out of the room. Father Neivo followed as they descended down some stairs and through a hall of cells some of them occupied. Eventually came to a filthy smelling cell. They pulled Aziraphale inside and place his chains onto a hook in the wall. 

"The angels we bring down here lovingly call this place the Pit. Think of it as a little slice of Hell." Father Neivo spoke from behind him. 

Aziraphale shivered at the sound of the whip being unfurled. 

"Now we can do this two ways. You can tell us what you know about the Archangels or we can beat you until you'll be begging to spill it all out. What's it going to be?" Neivo asked. 

"I'm sorry, I don't know the Archangels. I'm not proper enough to know them." Aziraphale remained defiant. 

"I see, well let's get started then." Neit came up and raised the whip.

With a practiced strike it tore into Aziraphale's back cutting it, golden ichor spilled from him. He let out a sob as the whip fell again. They continued until he was delirious and barely conscious. 

"I command you to stop your bleeding." Neivo said. 

The sigils glowed and without any say so on his part forced Aziraphale to stop bleeding. It didn't close the wounds though, they left him hanging from the hook. 

"I will return tomorrow and we'll see how you feel then." Aziraphale heard the door slam behind him as pulled him under.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Babylon chapters are going to be dark and torturus. The second timeline is more for fun.


	5. Earth 2018-2020

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's dip into the past a little and figure out why Gabriel is so familiar with Crowley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel is a prick, but he truly does care. He has his reasons for his relationship with Aziraphale which will be revealed later in the story.

**Earth 2018 after the Apoco-not-on-my-watch, Heaven.**

* * *

"And I bet you didn't see this one coming." 

Gabriel steps back as the imp walks in, for the tiniest flicker of a moment Aziraphale (Crowley) thought he saw a look of regret on Gabriel's face. 

"Don't get a view like this in the basement." The imp threw Hellfire into stone circle. Standing up, he turned to the Archangels. 

"Can I hit him? I've always wanted to hit an angel." 

Sandalphon smirked. "Go ahead." 

The imp approached Aziraphale ready to sucker punch him. Aziraphale just gave a tiny smile looking the imp dead in the eyes, The imp backed down. 

"A second thought I'll just come back after the BBQ." The imp practically fled back to the elevators. 

Uriel approached Aziraphale and untied him. 

"UP." They said. 

As Aziraphale stood up suddenly everything paused, even the hellfire stood still. Aziraphale looked confused as Gabriel walked up to him. 

"Umm, what seems to be the problem Gabriel." He said letting out a nervous laugh. 

Gabriel grabbed his chin and looked him in the eyes. Then he let out a laugh he released Aziraphale.

"I thought something was off." Gabriel was chuckling. 

"Whatever do you mean?" Aziraphale asked looking more nervous and began to pace. 

"I had a feeling that you guys would try and trick us somehow. And I have to say bravo, really I do." Gabriel smiled at Aziraphale which did not help matters. 

"However do you mean trick? There's no trick, why I have half a mind to leave now while I can." Aziraphale finally stood still. 

"Ok, I know it's you Crowley. Man you even got his way of talking down. I love it." 

"Crowley? Crowley is in Hell I watched him be dragged away, I think I'd rather like to get on with the whole execution business now. So if you would." Aziraphale gestured to the statuesque hellfire. 

"In a minute I want to talk real quick. Don't play games with me sunshine, I might not know Aziraphale as well as you do but I know you well enough to know that this is something you would do." Gabriel actually sat down on the floor. 

"I'm afraid I still have no idea what you're talking about Gabriel." Aziraphale's voice was becoming more strained.

Gabriel just shook his head. 

"Listen there's something you need to know, or well Crowley should know." He looked at Aziraphale as the Principality wavered before finally sitting down as well. 

"Alright then. I guess I'll just have to relay the message if there turns out to be a afterpoint for us." He replied.

"I looked into the earthly observation files and found that you and "Crowley" spent a lot of time together. I also looked back further into Crowley's file. And yes." He said holding up his hand stopping Aziraphale from interjecting. 

"Heaven has files on the Fallen, it's just it's only available to the Archangels. I looked back because I was curious about him especially after Babylon." He paused as they both flinched at the memory. 

"And what did you find out about him?" Aziraphale's voice begged for an answer. 

"I know who he was before he Fell." 

Aziraphale (Crowley) sucked in a bated breath. 

"I know you were Raguel, Archangel of righteous justice." Gabriel watched as shock etched itself across the angel's face. 

"I was? Really?" Aziraphale (Crowley) sat there staring at him trying to frantically process this information.

"What happened then, why can't I remember who I was?" Crowley was scratching his head at this. 

"The file says that you Fell of your own accord, you chose to fall. Why exactly I don't know but I can venture a guess." Crowley nodded waiting for more, Gabriel continued. 

"When you were one of us you had a deep-seated sense of morality. It was after you were forced to slay Carasel that you began to question everything. You know longer wanted to keep your purpose so you left it all behind." 

Crowley looked stricken at this, this was a lot to process as the memories came flooding back. It was all true, he couldn't deal with having to Fell angels for bringing up good points so he Fell with them, it suddenly made sense why he was able to do all those things during the Apoco-isn't. He was crying he gripped Aziraphale's hair with Aziraphale's hands. 

"Ok, so I was an Archangel and I Fell. But I don't want to come back. I just want to protect Aziraphale, I can't stand it if he dies. So what are you going to do about it?" He looked at his once brother, Gabriel wore a look of sad relief. 

"Well as far as I see it, Aziraphale is going to be put to Hellfire. I mean he's sitting right here in front of me, how am I to know if he can survive it or not?" Gabriel gave a small but genuine smile. Crowley raised an eyebrow but returned it shortly thereafter.

Gabriel helped him to his feet. 

"Now you've faked it long enough, make it really convincing so much so that I would believe it as well." 

He shook Aziraphale's hand and they both returned to their original places. He nodded to Aziraphale and snapped restoring time.

"May we meet on a better occasion." Aziraphale said. 

Gabriel ducked his eyes.

"Shut up and die already." 

Crowley smiled sadly but walked into the Hellfire nonetheless. 

.

.

.

.

.

.

When they were back at the bookshop Crowley was staring at Aziraphale as he poured them both a glass of wine. The Angel smiled and blushed when he caught him staring. Their hands touched as Aziraphale handed him his glass. He brushed his fingers and drew closer to the angel. 

"Crowley?" Aziraphale was beet red and there was an undisguised want in his voice. 

Crowley brushed his cheek and leaned in kissing him and to his relief Aziraphale kissed him back. He pulled away from the kiss their foreheads still touching. 

"I love you Angel." He said sappy heart he was. 

"And I love you My Dear." Aziraphale leaned in and kissed him again. This time neither drew away.

* * *

Earth 2020

"Aziraphale please come in." 

Anathema greeted him at the door and quickly swept him into the cottage. Newt was busy cooking in the kitchen. It smelled delightful, but no time to focus on that. Aziraphale brought in his books and set them on the table. 

"So what happened?" She asked. 

"Well Crowley and I were, umm… we were in bed together." Aziraphale is turning red thankfully Anathema says nothing. 

"Yes right, we were in bed together and suddenly he felt dizzy and complained of a buzzing noise. Now Crowley has been summoned before so he knew what was happening. But when being summoned you can often for a short time period tell where you are being summoned to." He continued. 

"Really?" Anathema looked surprised at this new information. 

"Well yes. It's not perfect but it has happened before, but like I was saying we were in bed together and before he could give me a clue he disappeared. Spells work better the more people you have so that's why I'm here, I must find Crowley and get him back before something awful happens to him." Aziraphale finished with pleading eyes. 

Anathema put her hand on his arm.

"We'll find him, after all we're an angel, witch and Witchfinder. I doubt that he can be hidden from us." 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took a bit of inspiration from GayDemonicDisater in Crowley's angel form. You guys should really check out their fic Protection because it is funny and awesome.   
This will be only chapter where it's really brought up. In Babylon Gabriel isn't aware that Crowley was an Archangel, hell at the moment he's not even aware who Crowley is.   
Anyways my point is that it's not really all that important in this story on who Crowley was. It's only important in helping us understand Gabriel a bit more.  
.  
.  
.  
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Apologies for anyone experiencing Repossession flashbacks. I was too when I wrote the scene but it's not what you think.


	6. Babylon 331 BCE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a steady hand Aziraphale wrote the true name of Gabriel. The book drank his blood in and glowed wickedly as it did, Aziraphale felt that if he had a soul he just sold it away.   
.  
"I must stress to both of you, this room is your prison. You both are contained here until it is time for the final ceremony."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Switches from Aziraphale's pov to Gabriel/Crowley.

Aziraphale held out for 21 days. 

For 21 days while they beat and whipped him he continued to protest that he had no knowledge of the true names of the Archangels. He was in a state of near constant delirium or unconscious, they only permitted him to stop the bleeding but never close the wounds. He held out for 21 days, regardless of the pain it caused him. 

He prayed to God, tried to call upon the Archangels he even cried out to Crowley. It seemed as though no one was listening, if he had been more awake. He might have noticed the runes that blocked any Ethereal or Occult being from being detected in this wretched place. He was on his stomach his back too torn up to lay on, they had let him drop to the floor last time. Left him to lay in his own filth, small mercies. He heard them coming and braced himself for the coming hours. The cell door opened and someone was thrown to the ground next to him.

Neit walked in. Neivo had stopped coming, instructing him to be brought to his quarters when he was ready to talk. Aziraphale opened his eyes and let out a raspy gasp at the face in front of him. It was Coriel. Neit yanked the smaller angel up and hooked their chain to the wall. He turned to Aziraphale.

"Sit up." The sigils glowed in warning and Aziraphale obeyed. 

"You need to be conscious I command you to heal yourself completely." 

The sigils did his work for him knitting together his flayed skin and leaving no marks. 

"Good, pay attention." Neit pulled out his whip and pointed towards Coriel. 

"Reveal to us what we want to know or your friend will pay the price for it." 

"I can't, I don't know their names." Aziraphale looked away shamefully. 

"Then you watch as I tear your friend apart." 

Neit raised his whip and brought it down on Coriel. They screamed in pain and Aziraphale watched it. Crying and trying so hard to hold it together, he watched as the whip was brought down again and Coriel's blood spilt upon the stone. It mixed with his and he screamed in defeat. 

"I'll do it! I'll do it just please stop. Don't hurt them anymore. I'll give you what you want to know. Please." He was hunched over sobbing weakly. 

Neit grabbed his hair. 

"Good, I thought this would work." Neit pulled Aziraphale up and out of the cell, leaving Coriel behind. 

"Wait. Wait! You have to heal them! You have to" *smack* Neit slapped Aziraphale.

"I don't have to do anything, you're the one who has to obey." He dragged him back to Neivo's quarters throwing him to the ground as they entered. 

Neivo had been standing over his table studying a bound tome. He looked up and smiled. 

"I take it our friend has finally agreed to fulfil its purpose?" 

Aziraphale nodded. 

"If I tell you, will you let Coriel go?" He asked though he was pretty sure of the answer, it couldn't hurt to try. If even one of them could get out and alert heaven. 

Neivo laughed. He came over and squatted in front of Aziraphale.

"I knew you were wise. Good try but that will not happen, all the beings here are here for a purpose. Now come let me show you what you're working with."

He dragged Aziraphale to his feet and brought him over to the table, Aziraphale picked up the tome bound in some sort of flesh. His hands shook as he turned the pages, there were names of angels and demons in it. Summoning rites and runes, everything they needed to use in this damned tower was in the book, all of it written in red ink. Aziraphale had never seen anything like this book before.

"Where did you get this book? I've never seen anything like it before." The inner bibliophile in him eyed the book hungrily. There wasn't anything else like it, not even in Heaven. He doubted Hell even had this book. 

"Impressed my friend? Good, this book was found right here in the very ground we're building this glorious tower upon. It will lead me to my destiny, but I need your help to do it. See here it has the true names of heavenly hosts and the true names of the creatures of the pit. I have what I need from Hell's side, but the true names of the Archangels are not in this tome. When you spoke of Gabriel I knew you would have the knowledge I seek. So you will write the true names for me, I think you know what will happen should you refuse." Neivo clapped him on the back leaving his nails digging into Aziraphale's shoulder. 

_ *God and the Heavens forgive me and save us.*  _ Aziraphale nodded. 

"I'll need something to write with." He stated. 

Neivo motioned to Neit and Aziraphale flinched as a wicked looking dagger was produced. Neivo laughed at this. 

"I command you to hold out your arm." The sigils flashed a warning, Aziraphale obeyed.

"This book is written in blood and bound by flesh. Only one type of ink can stick to the pages." Neivo placed a bowl under his arm and slashed it open. Collecting the blood until the bowl was half filled and Aziraphale grew dizzy. 

"Now then heal yourself." 

Aziraphale obeyed, Neivo handed him a brush. 

"Write the names of the Archangels for me." 

Aziraphale dipped the brush into his own blood.

His hand stilled and he froze up, he was about to hand knowledge over to a monstrous human. Knowledge that could cause so much harm, he couldn't do this. 

"Would you like to be reminded of what happens if you refuse? Because we can fetch your friend and pull it apart bit by bit." Neivo whispered into his ear. 

Aziraphale shook.

"Just trying to recall it, I only know one of them. I'm not important enough to know the others." He said his voice shaking.

"Very well then, write what you know." Neivo's hand tightened his nails drawing blood. 

With a steady hand Aziraphale wrote the true name of Gabriel. The book drank his blood in and glowed wickedly as it did, Aziraphale felt that if he had a soul he just sold it away. 

"Good. Neit! Take it back to work with the others, Oh and be sure to fetch its friend from the Pit. After all good deeds don't go unpunished." He waved them in dismissal and Aziraphale was dragged back to work, he sent out a small desperate prayer to anyone listening. 

* * *

Gabriel awoke to the sounds of footsteps. Sitting up he saw Crowley awake as well, the door swung open the priest was back.

"Well hello my friends." Neivo walked up to the circles.

"I imagine you're getting tired of these circles. Good thing this next part should see to that." 

To Gabriel's and Crowley's annoyance two human slaves had brought more brands in. There were three this time. Rather than suffer humiliation like last time they just bit back the screams of pain. As soon as the brands were seared deep into their flesh the priest had the circles broken so they could move around the room. Gabriel ran for the door pushing the priest down as he did. He managed to get to the door, he slams into an invisible wall when the pain hits. 

As he twitches on the floor the priest just smiles down at him. Soon enough the pain is over, and Gabriel is panting. Something he's never had to do before. 

"A good attempt but you really don't seem to get the message that this room is fortified against you leaving it. Why else would I allow you out of those circles, I'm certainly not going to let the stars of the show go about freely. Seeing as you're so uncooperative I think it's time you had a lesson in obedience." 

Neivo smiled wickedly as he waved to one of the slaves who ducked out of the room. A couple minutes went by before Neit walked in grinning from ear to ear. They grabbed Gabriel and held him down, the sigils allowing them to easily overpower the Archangel. Neit laughed as he whipped him raw, Gabriel grinded his teeth with every sting. After about 15 minutes Neit ceased and stepped away from Gabriel. He turned to Neivo and gestured to Crowley, Crowley paled a little as Neivo nodded. He was forced onto his knees

"Can't have you thinking you'll escape the room either, mighty Lucifer." Neivo gave the order and Neit whipped him as well. 

"Now." Neivo said when Neit was finished

"I must stress to both of you, this room is your prison. You both are contained here until it is time for the final ceremony. Keep in mind that you cannot hurt us, and you cannot hurt each other. So no battles here. Behave and I'll be sure to send you both someone to take care of those nasty lashes. Don't behave and you'll see a repeat of what just happened. I should let you know Lucifer, that we have a massive stock of Holy Water. I'm not afraid to see it put to use." 

Neivo left as did the rest of the humans. Gabriel let out a groan of pain as he tried to get up. 

"You'll want to go slowly, try using your arms and legs instead of your torso." Crowley advised. It helped.

"Why didn't you remind him that you're not Lucifer?" Gabriel stared at the red-headed demon who was sitting hunched over trying to take the pressure off his back. 

"Do you really think that wise? Do you not understand what card is in play here?" Crowley grunted out. Gabriel just shook his head. 

"So long as those idiots think they have the real Lucifer they won't go looking for his name. They'll waste their time on a wild goose chase while I can plot my escape. So if you're a wise angel you'll play along and I'll probably let you tag along when I get out of here." He explained. 

Gabriel darkened a little at Crowley insulting his intelligence, but the demon had a point. The door opened again and two beings stepped inside carrying water and clean rags, both looked worn and exhausted.

"Aziraphale!" Gabriel looked at the blonde angel whose head shot up in shock. Aziraphale looked from Gabriel and then to Crowley. Letting out the smallest of whimpers.

"Crawly?" The other one called out. 

"Hey there Ligur, how you been?" Crowley said looking briefly at Aziraphale before staring at the grumpy chameleon.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I know that there's a bunch of idioms in here that weren't used in those days but I don't want to try and write in old Hebrew and other languages of the Bible days.


	7. Earth 2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than the others because my brain didn't want to let me write it. Hope you enjoy it nonetheless.

Aziraphale, Anathema and Newt stood over a map of the world as they swung the crystal over it. The crystal rocked back and forth over the entirety of England, Scotland and Europe. It refused to go anywhere near Russia and ignored China completely. They tried the Australia and nothing. 

"Are you sure he wasn't taken by one of the realms?" Newt asked boldly. 

"I'm quite sure, I can still feel his presence it's just muted and distant." Aziraphale snipped before apologizing. The boy was trying to help. 

Anathema swung the crystal over to the America's and suddenly it started to slow. 

She held it over the USA and it held completely still, right over Texas. It was a good start. 

"Texas? All that way?" Aziraphale breathed, he wouldn't be able to miracle himself there. Not from Earth at least, he'd have to fly there. 

"We still don't know where in Texas. We need a map of the state." Anathema replied searching her books and files. Growing more impatient Aziraphale snapped and an atlas of the United States appeared.(stolen from a bookstore somewhere in London. Desperate times call for desperate measures.) 

He flipped through it and soon pulled out the Texas page. Tearing it out of the book he placed it on the table and swung the crystal over it. It stopped right over a city called Dallas. 

"Well then I guess I'll be headed westward like the great Grand Dames of olden days, oh do you know about the Grand Dame of-" 

Aziraphale was cut off from a lecture about the women who really settled the west when Anathema reminded him of why he needed to head that way. Anathema showed him how to use his cellphone and Newt wrote it down. (afraid to break the thing if he touched it.) They reminded him to call when he got there and if there were any problems. 

Aziraphale miracled himself to an airport and a first class ticket on the next plane to the States. As it would be faster than him flying over the sea.

* * *

"Are you out of your Satan damned minds! Why would I want to marry him?" 

Crowley growled, it's hard to look intimidating when you're only wearing a pair of boxers your boyfriend bought you because they had snakes on them. Still somehow he managed. The cult members backed off slightly. 

"But it's the only way to unite the realms and bring about intergalactic harmony!" The leader began.

"Yeah and who told you that?" Crowley fumed. 

"A couple of aliens passed on the message of intergalactic peace and harmony awhile ago."

The leader continued to protest and Crowley continued to argue with them. Gabriel just rub his temples trying to drown out the noise. 

"Alright that's enough!" Gabriel called out starting everyone in the room. 

"Listen, Human I for one can appreciate your misguided attempts at bringing about peace on earth and all that." 

Crowley was mimicking him behind his back. 

"But." His voice strained. "I think you're misled here. I have no intention of marrying anyone least all a demon." 

"But why not? Surely bringing peace is worth it?" The leader whined. 

"Oh sod off, marriage is about love and consent. I already have someone I love." Crowley grumbled.

"Really?! You're already married?" The cult members stared at him. 

"Well no I'm not." Crowley began

"Wait really? I thought you would've gotten married by now." Gabriel raised an eyebrow at this. 

"Your opinion isn't appreciated here." Crowley snipped. "My point is that if I'm going to be marrying anyone it would be my angel." 

The cult members looked at each other. They whispered some more before turning back to address them. The leader spoke up. 

"Seeing as our original plans aren't going to work we need to discuss what's next and reconvene later." The cult members all headed out. 

"Can I at least get some pants!" Crowley called out as they shut the door. 

Gabriel smirked at him. 

"Shut up." Crowley was pouting.

* * *

Aziraphale touched down in the Dallas airport good day after he left England. He pulled out his phone, map and scrying crystal and began to search again for Crowley. He didn't notice the figure coming up behind him until they put their hand on his shoulder. 

Aziraphale jumped at this. He turned around and was met with the familiar visage of Uriel. 

"Uriel, good to see you. Umm, what are you doing here?" He stammered out. 

"Gabriel is missing and we've tracked him here but we can't pin his location down. Where is your boyfriend?" They replied. 

"Umm, well." He wonders if he should say anything, but they might be able to help. He's getting a terrifying sense of deja vu. "Well Crowley is also missing, I tracked him here." 

"Then for now it's safe to assume our goals are the same. You should help us find them both." Uriel said matter of factly. 

Aziraphale just sighed and agreed, he returned to his scrying as Uriel watched on.

  
  
  



	8. Babylon 331 BCE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up and Ligur won't shut up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's getting towards the end of this timeline now. Buckle in.  
CW and TW extreme torture and cruelty.

"Crawly?" Ligur shuffled forward as the redhead demon looked up. "Yu look like Hell." He said. 

"Aww thanks Ligur same to you, and it's Crowley." Crowley was trying not to look back at Aziraphale. The angel peered at him but quickly glanced away and went over to Gabriel. 

"So they got yu too, eh Serpent?" Ligur asked being more than rough while wiping his back. 

"Yes, argh that hurts! Bastard." Crowley growled through gritted teeth. 

"Ya well if yur wanting cuddles and babying ask one o them angels." This caused Aziraphale to blush, luckily Gabriel was turned away from him. 

Ligur finished his poor attempt at mending Crowley's flayed skin. 

Aziraphale was much more gentle and meticulous with Gabriel. 

"They usually let us stop the bleeding at least." 

Aziraphale said tiredly tying the bandages tightly around Gabriel. 

"How long have you been here?" Gabriel asked putting his robes on properly. 

"I'm not sure, I spent a great amount of time in a cell. I'm afraid my perception of time is greatly skewed by that." Aziraphale looked away in shame. 

There was a knock at the door, Aziraphale and Ligur had to leave. Ligur said nothing as he left Aziraphale just waved tiredly. He looked like something was weighing heavily on his mind. He said nothing but left as well. 

Crowley hopped up and wandered around the room. He was muttering to himself and inspecting everything he came across. 

"What are you doing?" Gabriel asked watching him.

"Looking at exactly what we're dealing with here. I don't recognize some of these runes. The creepy priest was right though, all these runes bind us to this place. Even if we got out of the room I imagine we couldn't get very far. Damnit." Crowley slumped back down and hissed as his bandages bled. 

"Are all demons pathetic at tying bandages?" Gabriel asked gingerly walking over. He sat down next to Crowley and waited for permission. Crowley nodded and Gabriel untied the bandages so he could tighten them. 

"Well healing others isn't exactly a demon trait. We are expected to take care of ourselves, in fact losing a corporation is most often met with extreme punishment." He winced as Gabriel undid them.

"Besides aren't you a messenger or something? How do you know what to do?" Crowley snipped at him.

Gabriel paused for a moment when he thought he saw the faint outline of four scars on his lower back. He said nothing but tighten the bandages enough to stop the bleeding. 

"Raphael taught me he's the arch-" 

"The Archangel of healing, makes sense then. He was always making sure everyone knew about healing even if they weren't paying attention to him." Crowley winced a little as Gabriel gave the bandages a pull to make sure they were tight enough.

"Should I say thank you?" Crowley asked.

"No, your demon friend." Gabriel started.

"More of a co-worker, demons don't really have any friends." Crowley interjected.

"Whatever, that demon called you Serpent. Why?" Gabriel stared at Crowley who just pointed towards his mark. 

"Serpent?" Gabriel was going over this in his head. A few minutes passed by before he shouted out. 

"You're the Serpent of Eden!" He pointed at Crowley. 

"Ding-ding. You got it." Crowley snarked back. 

Gabriel just glared at him.

"Why do they think your Lucifer?" He asked.

"I have no idea, I guess people assume that it was Lucifer in the Garden. To be fair, he was the one who told me to get up there and make some trouble. But I never pretended to be him." 

Crowley just laid on his side and began to drift asleep. 

They both said no more after that. Crowley chose to sleep and Gabriel decided to just sit and try to rest a little. What must have been morning came to soon as the door slammed open and Ligur was back. This time he held a bowl of fruit, Neivo and Neit followed behind him. Ligur placed the bowl down in front of them neither touched it. 

"What's wrong my friends? Surely you don't want to deny my gifts why I don't let just any of the slaves here eat." Neivo looked upset. 

Crowley and Gabriel ignored him. 

"Are you sure you're not hungry, surely you would like an apple Lucifer?" Neivo plucked one from the bowl and held it out to Crowley. 

Ligur began to laugh. Crowley's face darkened as Neivo stared at him. 

"Him, Lucifer?" Ligur laughed.

"Be quite Ligur." Crowley snapped at him.

"You really got these morons believing that you're the King of Hell? You're barely above the disposables" Ligur looked to be tickled pink at this.

"Why does he say such things? Surely you are Lucifer are you not?" Neivo asked as Neit advanced towards Ligur.

"I am, he's just a fool who needs to shut his mouth." Crowley said defensively trying to keep the illusion up.

Ligur glared at him. 

"He's no King of Hell, he's barely a Lord." Ligur sneered.

Gabriel snapped "You stupid demon can you not think before you speak?!" 

"You have been lying to us my friend?" Neivo looked saddened at this. Neit took his jug of water, He uncorked it and before Ligur could move or run poured the Holy Water on him.

Crowley clutched his ears as he tried to drown out Ligur's screams. He wasn't paying attention as Neit moved towards him. 

Neit pulled a dagger from his belt, Neivo moved closer to him. 

"Neit, it occurs to me that we never properly confirmed that this was Lucifer. They say Lucifer has a very particular mark on him." Neivo stared at Crowley who looked up shaking. 

"I am, he was lying to you. I am Luci-" Neivo slapped him. 

"Neit if you would." Neivo motioned to him. 

Neit came forward and stripped off Crowley's robes. They inspected his body and when they couldn't find it grew angry. Neit slammed Crowley to the ground. Crowley struggled but Neit punched him. 

"Hold still." Crowley was forced to obey. 

"You little lying snake, you are not Lucifer. Tell us his true name. I command it." Neivo snarled at him. The sigils flashed in warning. 

"I don't know his true name." Neit waited for the sigils to begin burning him, but they didn't he was telling the truth. 

"You're lying!" Neivo voice was rising. 

"I'm not, I swear I don't know his true name." Crowley was staring right into Neit's eyes silently pleading for them to believe him. 

Neit snarled and looked at Neivo. Neivo nodded and this made Neit smile.

Neit forced Crowley to hold completely still, he pried open the Serpents mouth and grabbing his tongue cut it out. Crowley screamed in pain and began to choke on his own blood. 

"Father, should we use the Holy Water on this one as well?" Neit was still pinning Crowley down. Crowley coughed and sputtered. 

Neivo walked over to them.

"No, I want him alive. Stop the bleeding and then send him to work, I need to do more research." Neit got off of Crowley allowing him to turn over, blood pouring from his mouth. Neivo bent and brushed at Crowley's face. Crowley backed off blood still spilling from his mouth. 

"You're still beautiful, I think I shall send for you later tonight." Crowley shook in fear. 

"Be sure to stop the bleeding though can't have him make it back to Hell. Can we?" Neivo walked out. 

"Stay here, I'll be back shortly." Neit walked out of the room as Crowley shook. 

Crowley was in pain to a point where he didn't even notice Gabriel draping his robes over his naked body. He jumped a little but then took his robes from the Archangel. Neit walked back in with a set of chains and a red hot poker. He clamped the chains over Crowley's wrists and ankles. Then he laughed as he once again forced open Crowley's mouth. Pressing the poker into the wounded flesh where his tongue was supposed to be, Neit delighted in watching him struggle. 

The bleeding stopped but Crowley's mouth was badly burned, he felt barely coherent as he was dragged towards the door. He briefly wondered if he'd even be able to leave before Neit stopped him and used that damned dagger to slice the sigil that must be binding him to the room. Neit didn't slow down for a second, dragging Crowley through the tower until they reached a portly man. They put him to work almost immediately handing him tools and ordering him to the top of the tower. 

On his way up he saw Aziraphale heading back down, their eyes met and Aziraphale looked like he was crying when he saw his mutilated mouth. They couldn't say anything to each other though surrounded by guards and other slaves. They passed by each other, as they did Crowley reached out and gently brushed Aziraphale's hand. This was all they could get away with here. Crowley continued to walk upwards as another angel walked closely behind him carrying a massive rock.

Coriel was exhausted, they had been in this hellhole the longest. They were among the first angels to be summoned and enslaved. They saw the cruelty of the world and it was breaking them. The humans worked them till they collapsed, human slaves were given time to rest each day but angels and demons were not. If an angel fell they'd be tossed in the cells strengthened with healing runes until they had gained enough strength back. If a demon fell they were doused with Holy Water, lest they make it back to Hell. It was an endless cycle and it looked like there was absolutely no hope. Until Aziraphale appeared, Coriel felt a fleeting of hope for just a moment. This wise and strong angel they looked up to so much was here. Promising rescue, promising God is listening and then that hope was torn from them. They watched Aziraphale get dragged off. They returned to their work and tried not to think of anything. 

They hadn't known why they were being dragged through the cells. Neit tossed them in and they saw Aziraphale laying on the floor. They were chained up and struck as Neit demanded information from Aziraphale. He gave in as the whip sliced open their back. They were left hanging for many hours before being dragged back to work. Neit left them bleeding and weak, Coriel could barely lift the stone they were carrying. Coriel stumbled on the way up crashing into another slave, the redhead was just as unsteady as they were. Both of them plummeted off the tower, the stone fell with them. Slamming into the ground and being crushed by the stone was enough to painfully discorperate both of them.

Coriel's spirit shot up to Heaven and they closed their eyes against the bright light. They gasped as the pain of their corporation vanished. Someone is touching them. They could feel soft warm hands going over their face, a gentle warm voice speaking to them. Opening their eyes they meet the soft honey brown of Raphael. 

"Can you speak?" Raphael looks into their eyes and they burst into tears of relief. Even though he's an Archangel they cling to his robes as they feel waves of calming energy flow through them. He just holds them and lets them cry. Eventually they are able to calm down and talk. 

"What happened to you?" Raphael asks them as he hands them some nectar to drink. 

Coriel spills all they know to him, they tell him of the tower of the slaves and of the cruelty. Raphael's face has set into a grimace, he guides them to a bed and instructs them to rest.

Raphael puts them to sleep, making sure to allow for them to have a beautiful dream. He storms away and hunts down Uriel and the rest of the Archangels. 

"So if Coriel is anything to go by the missing angels are being held in this tower?" Michael ask. 

"If they are correct then yes. We need to go down there and free them." Raphael replies.

"Shouldn't we wait for Gabriel to return?" Uriel ask. 

"We haven't heard from Gabriel in days, who knows where he is." Remiel points out.

"If he went looking for Aziraphale and Aziraphale is one of the prisoners there. He might have gotten attacked trying to get to him. What we need to do is act upon the information given to us. If not for the humans then for the angels trapped there." Raphael had no patience he wanted to see the tower destroyed.

"What about the demon slaves?" Remiel asked.

"What about them?" Michael echoed her brow furrowed.

"They're trapped like the angels, surely we should at least allow for them to make it out of there." Remiel pleaded with her fellows.

"Remiel has a point, the other slaves trapped there are as innocent as the angels. We should make sure to at least allow for them to go back to Hell." Raphael agreed.

"Very well I see no reason to go after them, but we focus on getting our angels and the humans out first." Michael replied.

They set to work planning their attack.

* * *

Crowley opened his eyes to see Hastur standing over him.

"Hello Crawly, fancy seeing you here." Hastur grinned it was the first time Crowley had ever discorporated. Hastur loved playing with fresh meat.

Crowley sat up groaning. 

"It's Crowley, Why is everything sideways?" 

Crowley's voice was back, not needing a physical tongue in Hell. 

Hastur let out a barking laugh and pointed at Crowley's neck. It was then that Crowley realized that his neck was still broken. Grabbing his hair, he snapped it back into place. Before Hastur could advance on him he spoke again. 

"Wait, wait, I know where the missing demons are." 

Hastur paused at this. 

"You're sure? You're not making things up to get out of punishment are you?" He stared Crowley down. 

"Not that I wouldn't want to avoid punishment but yes I'm telling the truth." Crowley responded.

"I guess I should take you to see the Council then." Hastur yanked Crowley up and dragged him along. 

Crowley spoke with the Dark Council relaying everything about the Tower. Beelzebub seethed with rage as they ordered to round up the troops. Crowley added that since the angels were trapped like the demons they should at least allow them to go where they want to as long as they don't fight the demons. As the troops got ready to leave Crowley stopped Hastur grabbing him by the arm. 

"Hastur." 

"What do you want Crawly?" Hastur stared him deep in his eyes. 

"Ligur is dead, a man named Neit threw Holy Water on him." 

Hastur snarled at this. Crowley finished what he was saying. 

"I want you to make sure his soul doesn't just get tossed into some random pit. I'd like to talk to him since he was nice enough to cut my tongue out." 

Hastur nodded as the troops began to ascend towards Earth. He hoped that in tearing the Tower apart that Aziraphale and the others would be able to make it out of there safely. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crowley is counted as a Lord of Hell because of his success with the garden. However he's never cared about titles.


	9. Earth 2020

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Aziraphale and Uriel look for Crowley and Gabriel a familiar and sinster aura permates the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey this will be the last 2020 chapter, the next Babylon chapter will be posted tomorrow and then maybe a short epilogue. Sorry I dissapeared on you, I was having a hard time. I'm feeling better now so expect more updates for my stories. With that out of the way please enjoy.

The cult claimed it was one of kindness, love and altruism. 

After having received a message of galactic harmony and universal peace it's followers sought to bring it to fruition. After the events of last year they decided to go with a unifying marriage. Which is all good in practice but the trouble was who and how. That's when they were struck with a bit of fate. 

You see a couple of months before Adam came into his powers, him and the Them foolishly decided to watch Evil Dead without parental supervision. Brian, Adam and Wensleydale were quite terrified and even though she was pretending not to be so was Pepper. They huddled together and talked about that if they found that book they solemnly swore to never ever open it. It wasn't until Wensleydale pointed out that maybe the book had a spell on it to force you to open it that, they reasoned that they still wouldn't have to worry as that book was currently in America. Therefore there was no chance of them finding it. 

Now back to the events of the Apo-come-back-later.

Adam's imagination was fueling the chaos that was erupting around them. Everything that he thought to be true was becoming true. Afterwards everything was put right except for some minor overlooked details. One of them being that that *evil book existed in America (because that's where all evil things seemed to come from.).

It was on a camping trip that the leader of the cult found it tucked away in a cabin in the woods. They had felt compelled to open it, now they had been smart enough to head the warnings of reading the book out loud. However they were foolish enough to think any good could come from the book. They read about a ceremony to bring Heaven and Hell together and promptly thought it to be about marriage. 

They gathered up some followers, most made up of young people desperate to change the world and save it. Their group started with the simple ideal to save everything, but they didn't realize that the book would cost them everything to use. So as the frozen wind blows, a well meaning but ultimately flawed group of individuals prepare for the ceremony. Two angels scour Dallas searching for their missing family. And in the cold basement a Archangel and Demon chat with each other. 

* * *

"It's here!" Aziraphale looks up from the map. 

There it is, the house they've been looking for. It's a decent sized building in the middle of a rather nice neighborhood. Nothing looks out of the ordinary but both angels are feeling nauseous. Aziraphale especially is feeling sick. It takes a couple of minutes before he remembers why. 

He can feel it, feel that damned book. He takes a few steps back and is almost crushed by a truck barreling down the street. Uriel grabbed him and pulled up back onto the sidewalk. 

He starts to panic a little, as the memories come flooding back to him. He feels like his chest is being squeezed in a vice grip. He feels overwhelmed he starts to hyperventilate even though he wasn't breathing. Something is touching him, or someone. They're speaking to him but he can't make out what they're saying. Suddenly a wave of calming energy flows over him and he comes out of it. Uriel is staring at him with a puzzled look on their face. 

"Terribly sorry I just need a moment." Aziraphale takes some deep breaths. 

"What is it that you feel Aziraphale?" Uriel asks. 

Aziraphale shudders and calls forth his sword, he looks over to Uriel who takes the hint to call forth their weapon. 

"Something I hoped to never experience again. Something eviler than Lucifer himself, I'm afraid." His voice was small. 

They looked at each other nodded and headed into the house.

* * *

Crowley is getting annoyed at these humans, who knows how long they've been here. It's hard to tell when there's no clocks or windows, what's worse is that Gabriel doesn't make for the great conversationalist that Aziraphale is. 

"I'm just ssaying it doesn't make any sense. Why make them mammals but also lay eggss? I mean it's like they were made with whatever scrapss that were left over." 

Crowley had been talking about platypuses for awhile now and Gabriel was losing his patience. 

Gabriel squeezed the bridge of his nose praying for some kind of distraction.

_ "Anything Lord, I'll take anything just to get him to stop talking." _

Gabriel's prayers were answered when the door swung open and a few of the cult members walked in. The leader had a book in their hands.

"So to what do we owe this charming visit?" Crowley snarked at them. 

"You said you were already in love with someone yes?" The leader asked. 

"Yup, so it's probably best that you let us go." 

Crowley replied pacing his circle. 

"Oh we'll set you free soon enough, but we have some questions for you." 

The leader stepped forward and held out a book. The book made both Crowley and Gabriel lurch back. 

"Where did you get that book?" Gabriel stared at it looking like he was going to pass out. 

"I found it while camping. Now I need you to point out the name of the-." 

"No what you need to do is put the book down and get as far away from it as possible. Then you'll probably want to bathe in Holy Water." 

Crowley stared at the book fear in his eyes and voice.

"What?! Why?!" The leader sounded confused. They all heard a distant thump but did nothing about it.

"That book is a curse, it's evil and will only cause pain. I've seen what it can do, you need to put it down and get away from it." Gabriel was on the brink of pleading on his hands and knees. Some of the members whispered to each other.

"Sonny maybe we should listen." A mousy voiced member spoke from the back of the group. 

The leader huffed.

"No, we're on the brink of saving everything. All we need to know is the name of the angel." Sonny said, sounding whiny. 

"Well I'm not giving you that. Not a chance in hell. So me and my friend would appreciate it if you released uss." Crowley could hear shouting growing closer. 

"In fact, it would be a good idea to releasse us very quickly. That is if you want to keep your mindsss about you." Crowley hissed looking towards the basement door. 

The cult members followed his gaze as the door slammed open.

"Crowley!" Aziraphale's voice rang out as he ran down the steps into the room. He was followed by Uriel. 

They came up to the group. Aziraphale pointed his sword to the ground yet readied for battle. This wouldn't be like the last time, no matter how disturbingly familiar it was. 

"Humans I ask that you release my friend and the other being you have imprisoned here." 

Aziraphale said in a calm tone. 

While he kept them distracted Uriel snuck towards the circles. 

"Are you the angel he was talking about?" Sonny asked. 

Aziraphale looked a little puzzled. 

"This is wonderful. We were trying to get a hold of you. You're needed to complete the ceremony." You could practically hear the grin in Sonny's voice.

"And what ceremony is that I must ask?" Aziraphale tightened his grip on his blade as his eyes fell upon the one book he hoped to never see again.

Uriel was scratching the runes letting Gabriel out, Gabriel then directed them to release Crowley. 

"Why a wedding ceremony to bring Heaven and Hell together! We seek to unite the realms and save the world!" Sonny was practically squealing.

The other cult members didn't sound so enthusiastic about it anymore. 

"Then you are all fools, there is nothing in that book about wedding ceremonies." Aziraphale looked towards Crowley who was stepping out of his circle. 

"If you're so inclined in saving the world then I must insist you find another way to do it. That book will not save the world, it will end it. If you truly want to save the world run for office so you can be in charge of it." 

Aziraphale watched as their faces reflected the doubt sewn there. As they pondered this advice Crowley snuck up behind them, they took one look at the demon, Crowley transformed his face into his demonic form and sent them running for the door. 

All except Sonny, who was wrestling with Aziraphale to keep the book. 

"You stupid child, it is in your best interest to let go of this book." Aziraphale looked panicked.

"Why? What are you planning on doing with it?" Sonny held fast. 

"Destroying it." Aziraphale's voice grew hard. 

"You can't!" Sonny cried as Aziraphale finally wrenched the book from their hands. 

Aziraphale let out a gasp staring at the thing, he trembled as he held it.

"My fault, it's my fault." He said in broken whispers.

Crowley came up and gently took it from him, he was going to burn this cursed thing in Hellfire. Then maybe soak the ashes in Holy Water so no one could use it ever again. 

Before he had a chance to even start the blaze he was tackled. Sonny knocked him over and gut punched him, they reached out for the book but Gabriel grabbed it first.

"Please! Please just listen to me, you can't destroy it." Sonny pleaded voice wracked with fear. 

"Why shouldn't we destroy it? This book has brought nothing but absolute pain, you should want us to destroy it before it destroys you!" Crowley said pushing them off of him. 

Sonny trembled terrified. 

"If you burn it I'll burn as well. I put my blood into the book." Sonny revealed. 

Aziraphale let out a pained gasp, Crowley went to him. 

"Why would you do that? What possibly convinced you to do that?!! Are you a complete moron!!!!" Gabriel was shouting at them. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I wasn't given a choice!" 

Gabriel spun around and stared at Aziraphale in shock. 

Crowley looked at him in pained confusion.

"What do you mean Angel? What are you talking about?" Crowley was holding him trying to calm the panic attack he was having. 

"I didn't want to, but they forced it out of me. I tried to hold out, but I couldn't let them suffer. They had already been through so much. Please Gabriel I'm sorry." Aziraphale voice racked with dry sobs. 

"Aziraphale look at me." Gabriel asked, Aziraphale complied. "What are you apologizing for? I need the whole story." 

Aziraphale nodded but couldn't make any words come out. Crowley placed a kiss on his head and squeezed his hand. 

"It's alright Angel you're safe, but we need to know what you're talking about. Take some deep breaths, there you go. Now please angel tell me what happened." 

Crowley murmured this into his ear. Aziraphale nodded and began his tale. He spoke of Babel and the evil tower, he spoke of what he went through there. Of how he held the information until they started to beat on Coriel. He spoke of how the priest made him write out Gabriel's true name in his own blood. 

"Gabriel, I'm sorry I didn't know what else to do. They were going to torture them. I knew they would, I didn't know what else to do, I didn't mean to have you be trapped I ju-"

Aziraphale stopped when Gabriel held up his hand. Uriel was staring at him with an unreadable expression.

He trembled before the Archangels. He had just revealed his darkest secret, one that he kept hidden from everyone. Including Crowley.

"Aziraphale, thank you for telling me this. Now things make more sense, I wish you had told me this earlier." Aziraphale bowed his head in shame, Crowley tightened his grip on him. 

"Aziraphale. You did the best thing you could." Gabriel said, looking at the Principality.

Aziraphale looked up puzzled at this.

"There was no right option in that situation, you made the choice that you hoped would cause the least amount of harm. That in itself is noble, I. I admire you for that. I admire that you gave it up not to save yourself but to save someone else, that is a most noble thing you can do." Gabriel watched tears spill over the Principality's eyes. 

"Thank you, Gabriel." Aziraphale's voice was filled with relief and closer. He hugged Crowley back.

"As for this book, we'll take it to Heaven and find a way to destroy it without destroying those tied to it. We'll keep you updated on what we find." 

Gabriel motioned for Uriel to follow him. He paused before leaving the basement, he turned to where Sonny the cult leader still sat on the floor. 

"Take care of that will you?" He said, then he and Uriel left. 

"All right there Angel?"

Crowley ran his fingers through Aziraphale's hair. Aziraphale was still holding tight to him his tears falling on the jacket Crowley was wearing. 

"Crowley?" Aziraphale pulled away and got a proper look at the purple suit jacket.

"Yeah Angel?" Crowley was brushing his eyes wiping away his tears. 

"Why on earth are you wearing Gabriel's jacket?" Aziraphale asked. 

"Oh, well it's bloody freezing in here and I only had my knickers on." Crowley stood up and helped Aziraphale up. "Of course now that I'm free of the circle."

He snapped his fingers and changed back into his usual clothes. 

They walked over to Sonny who was rocking back and forth after being confronted by the powers of Heaven and Hell. 

"What should we do with this one? Apart from being misguided and locking us in a freezing basement. They didn't really cause much harm."

Sonny shook their head rapidly and unfocused. 

"I think I have an idea." Aziraphale reached deep into his core and snapped his fingers. Sonny would wake up with a headache and pamphlets on courses in environmental law. 

After all, they were just trying to save the world.

* * *

Aziraphale and Crowley walked out of the house hand in hand. Aziraphale called Anathema to let them know that Crowley had been found safe and sound. They would be returning when they could. As they walked down the street Crowley spotted a familiar car. The Bentley pulled up and waited for them to get in. 

"What on earth? Crowley did you miracle the Bentley here?" Aziraphale asked. 

"Nope, but I think I know what it's here for." Crowley held the door open as Aziraphale got in. 

"Are you going to tell me?" Aziraphale asked sitting down and breathing in the relaxing scent of the car. Crowley bent over and opened the glovebox, he pulled out a pair of sunglasses and a box. 

"Angel?" He said softly. Aziraphale looked at him, he hadn't put his glasses on just yet. 

"I've been thinking. Why don't we go on a trip? We're already in America, let's go see the sites." Crowley offered. 

"I guess that wouldn't be too bad, but whatever is the box for?" Aziraphale stared into the demons golden eyes. 

"Well Angel, I was hoping you'd be agreeable to me picking the first stop." He held out the box. 

"And where would that be?" Aziraphale's voice grew hushed and gentle. 

Crowley popped open the box to reveal a small band of gold. It had wings engraved on each side and a sapphire as the jewel. Aziraphale gasped in happiness.

"How about Las Vegas?" Crowley asked grinning. 

"Oh Crowley! Of course, but why Las Vegas?" Aziraphale took the ring and kissed his demon. 

"You'll see when we get there." Crowley said pulling out into the street, after a loud honk he corrected the lane he was driving in and they headed off. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This book existed long before Adam or even his parents did. All Adam's powers did was transfer it to a cabin in America.
> 
> Also Crowley is only teasing Aziraphale, if you think that Aziraphale would want to get married in a Vegas chapel (that is if either one of them could actually enter giving the confusing duality of something that claims to a house of god but is swimming in sin.) Then you would be mistaken.


	10. Babylon 331 BCE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The armies of Heaven and Hell work together to defeat a common threat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It'll just be the epilogue after this. I'm currently working on a surprise project for ao3. My February Prompts will be uploaded with two chapters tomorrow so keep an eye out for that one.

The demons cowered on their knees, they had been lined up and jugs of Holy Water stood behind them, with human slaves standing waiting for the order to pour them out. Neit was walking up and down the line, whipping any demon who fell or flinched. Neivo was sitting on a throne glaring at them all, he held up his hand and Neit paused. He pointed to a small mouse demon. Her eyes bulged out and she began to panic as the human slaves picked up the jug and held it out over her head. Neivo stayed their hands without a word. 

"My friends, I don't doubt that you're all wondering why you are here. And I intend to inform you of the reason but first I must ask something of you." Neivo pulled out the book and handed it to Neit.

Neit opened it to a specific page and passed in front of the demons so they could read their own names from the book. 

"It is thanks to this book that I am able to host you all. And it is in thanks to this book that I was going to unite Heaven and Hell and become God!"

He says this with relish, but then his face turns into anger.

"I would've sooner, if I had not been lied to about the true name of Lucifer. Now the time approaches and I still don't have the one being I need. And that my friends is where you come in, give me the true name of Lucifer and you will be free. Fail to do so and you will be destroyed." 

With a wave of his hand Neit stalked over to the mouse demon. She shook as he grabbed her by the hair. 

"Do you know the true name of Lucifer?" Neit snarled at her as tears of blood poured from her eyes. "Answer me!" 

"N-no I don't, none of us do." Her voice squeaked out, the sigils branded into her chest did nothing. Neit snapped his fingers and the human slaves poured the jug out on her. Her screams tore into the core of every demon there. Neit continued down the line.

* * *

As the demons were interrogated Aziraphale crept along the halls. Hurrying as quickly as he could, he ducked in and out of alcoves. He heard the screaming and it made him falter thinking of Crowley. 

_ "Crowley is in Hell, he fell off the Tower. He's not here."  _ He reminded himself.

Coming upon a familiar door he snuck up behind the human guarding it. The human gasped and held his spear out, ready to fight him.

"Now listen here human, I implore you to let me in." Aziraphale said looking them straight in the eyes. "Do you know who you are guarding here?" He asked. 

The human shook his head. 

"This cell holds the Archangel Gabriel, it would look good on your record, come your death. Imagine that, helping to free an Archangel from bondage." Aziraphale watched as the idea took hold of the man. The man faltered for a second but dropped his spear and opened the door. 

"Thank you, may you find peace." 

Aziraphale stepped into the room and ran to the floor where Gabriel lay. After Crowley had been revealed to have lied about his identity Neivo had lost it. Neivo had Elonio hung from the tower as a warning. He also had Gabriel stripped and whipped until his flesh was raw and his blood soaked the ground. Aziraphale approached the Archangel and sat down next to him. Gabriel opened his eyes.

"Aziraphale is that you?" He muttered out pain behind every word. 

"Here I am, I'm so sorry Gabriel." He didn't know what to do. 

"The priest is desperate to find out the true name of Lucifer, they're executing demons to get it." Aziraphale said his voice hollow and weak. 

"What about the one who was in here with me? The Crawly one." Gabriel asked, trying to keep his mind off the pain. 

"Crawly? He fell off the Tower, he's probably back in Hell now." Aziraphale said, if his eyes were watering it was to be assumed because of their situation.

"Lucky him, Aziraphale, what are you doing here?" Gabriel asked. 

Aziraphale pulled out a blade. 

"I know it isn't ideal but if I can cut the sigils I can free you. If you're free then you can save everyone." His voice was monotonous and dry.

* * *

As Aziraphale had been making his way to the holding cell. A small army of angels appeared on the hills overlooking the city of Babylon. 

As they surveyed the city the shadows stretched and grew, a small army of demons appeared. With Beelzebub at the head. Michael and Them locked eyes and under a flag of truce they approached each other. 

"Beelzebub." 

"Michaelzz." 

"We're here to free our angels, we will not attempt to stop you from freeing your demons. We only ask that you do not cause harm to any huma-" 

"If youz thinkz we not going to go after the humanz repson-" 

"Let me finish, we only ask that you not cause harm to the enslaved humans. The rest are of no value to us." 

"Very wellz, letz go." 

They drew their swords and with the help of the other Archangels blasted the barrier down. 

Angels and Demons tore towards the Tower, intent on seeing it brought to rubble.

* * *

Aziraphale had managed to sit Gabriel up, Gabriel was listing to the side but Aziraphale's strength made up for that. His hand shook a little but he steeled himself, finding the correct sigil he took a deep steadying breath and slashed through the sigil binding Gabriel to the room. Fiery hot pains tore through Aziraphale as he collapsed screaming. 

The pain was over within half a minute and Aziraphale was able to sit up. He shook as he picked up the dagger, and placed it over the sigil binding Gabriel's powers. Taking another breath in tried to slash it but missed as Gabriel slipped from his shaking grip. Still he managed to spill blood and so his brands flared and this time it took longer to recover.

* * *

Neivo looked up in alarm as the sound of a roaring crowd descended upon the Tower. Suddenly he felt something shift as beings with flaming weapons poured into the Tower. The remaining chained demons took this chance to run as chaos unraveled. Neivo fled for his chambers Neit following behind him. As they ran into the room Neit slammed and barred the door behind him. 

"Neit! What is going on!" Neivo asked clutching his precious book. Neit said nothing just looked terrified at him. 

Outside Hastur scrambled looking for a specific person. He grabbed a fleeing fox demon. 

"You, tell me where I can find the human known as Neit." 

The demon looked at him a bit terrified. 

"Down that hall and to the left. Third door." 

They stammered out. 

"Good, see you in Hell then." Hastur slit the demons throat discorperating them and earning them a fast ticket home. He stalked towards the hall a cruel smile pulled at his lips.

* * *

Aziraphale couldn't hold the dagger still enough to cut the remaining sigils. His hand trembled from the pain. Him and Gabriel stared at each other. 

"I'm sorry Gabriel, I don't know what else to do." 

Aziraphale said in defeat. Neither of them were in the shape to pay any attention to what was going on outside of the room. Gabriel had lost a lot of blood, but those damn sigils kept his corporation from dying. He looked at the tiny Principality. A steadfast soldier of heaven, seeking to do the right thing. He was willing to put himself in great pain for another's benefit. Gabriel smiled at this, he could use this. 

"Aziraphale." Gabriel spoke tiredly. 

Aziraphale looked up at him. 

"I have an idea, I need you to discorperate me." 

Gabriel said. 

"How? I can't harm you without harming myself. How do you expect me to do that?" He was staring incredulously at him. 

"You know enough about human bodies to know that one good stab in the proper place will destroy the body." Gabriel pointed out. 

"Yes, yes of course." Aziraphale stood up his knees knocking, he licked his lips and tightened his grasp on the blade. He raised the blade and was about to plunge it into Gabriel's neck when the door slammed open and Michael and Raphael ran inside. Aziraphale immediately dropped the blade and fell backwards. 

Michael's eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

"Brother, Sister you are here!" Gabriel let out a cry of relief. 

"What's going on Gabriel?" Michael said eyes still locked on Aziraphale. Gabriel followed her gaze. Raphael was at his side healing him with a touch. 

"We didn't know you were here, we thought it the only way to get out of here. It was my idea." Gabriel said taking the blame. 

Michael stood down and offered a hand to Aziraphale. He took it and Raphael came and healed him as well, Aziraphale noted that the sigils were gone as well. 

"We need to leave, this Tower is to be destroyed. Come on." Michael motioned for them to follow her. They took off towards freedom.

* * *

The shouting and shaking was getting louder, Neivo was quickly burying his precious book. He placed it into a special made box and covered it. So long as the book stayed safe he would not die, he had poured an extraordinary amount of his blood into the book. He bound his soul to it, and he garunetted himself eternal life. He didn't realize how he would come to regret it.

* * *

Someone was banging on the door, a raspy voice demanded entry. Neivo ran in and had Neit push the table against the door as the pounding grew louder. 

"Knock knock." The voice called out. Suddenly the door erupted in flames. A cackling figure 

Stood in the doorway, it had black eyes and white hair. 

"Now you're supposed to say who's there." 

The figure stepped forward Neit and Neivo pushed themselves back against the wall. 

"I'm looking for a man named Neit, direct me to him and I'll let the other one go." 

Neivo grabbed Neit and threw him forward. 

"Him, he's the one you want. Take him, and let me go." Neivo shook. 

Hastur smiled and grabbed Neit, pulling him up by his hair. 

"For your help." Hastur lit Neivo on fire. Neivo screamed and writhed in agony as he died. Hastur laughed as he looked upon his prize, Neit trembled before him. 

"Now I was told by a certain coworker of mine, one with red hair (Neit paled at this) that you were the one who killed my friend. I'm going to enjoy playing with you." Hastur grinned as maggots started to pour from his mouth. 

Neit cried out in terror but was saved by the appearance of another demon. 

"Duke Hastur!" Beelzebub called out to him.

"What?! Can't you see I'm busy here?" Hastur shot back. 

"The angels are going to rain Heavenly fire upon this tower. We need to leave." Beelzebub buzzed advancing towards him. 

"But this is the man who killed Ligur! I'm not going to let him go." Hastur complained. 

Beelzebub sighed and ran up stabbing Neit in the chest. Hastur cried out indignantly. 

"You can play with him in Hell, unlezz you want to zee if there's another zide for us you'll leave nowz!" With that warning they stormed from the room Hastur following behind. 

As they ran he set whatever he could on fire, he couldn't let the angels have all the fun. They fled to the hills and met up with the other demons. They all watched as the Archangels called down fire to destroy and topple the Tower of Babel. They waited until it was burned to ash and rubble before leaving for their respective realms. The survivors were gathered up and taken to heal their wounds.

* * *

Neivo found himself surrounded by darkness, he couldn't see, couldn't move, couldn't make a sound. It felt like there were more people here but he wouldn't be able to confirm it. He had sold himself to the book for eternal life, and his lonely existence was just beginning.

* * *

Neit awoke in a stone cell, a figure draped in black robes was staring at him. He flinched back as the light of a torch caught his red hair. 

"Hello my friend." Crowley smirked looking at the once mighty soldier. 

"I have to say, I was worried that you would get lost in the fray of everything. I mean you and your buddies have caused a lot of paperwork for us to go through. Can you blame me if I wanted to make sure you got where you were going properly?" Crowley *laughed at the man's fear. 

"What are you going to do? Whip my back raw? Cut out my tongue? Not very creative is it?" Neit challenged him. 

Crowley shook his head. 

"Naw none of that, I'm afraid I'm a bit too busy for any of that. I'm just keeping an eye on you for a coworker of mine." 

The door opened and the white haired demon from before stepped in. 

"They're wanting you in body claiming Crawly." 

"Crowley. That was quick, I'm afraid my friend that I'm required to be elsewhere. But I trust you and Duke Hastur will get along just fine." Crowley clapped Hastur's arm and gave a two finger salute as he left. 

Hastur grinned as the door shut and he was left alone with Neit.

* * *

Crowley brushed the dirt off his shoulders as he popped back into the world. He walked with his hips swinging, still breaking in the new corporation. It was exactly identical to his old one except for a couple minor details. As he approached the city a familiar scent hung in the air. He followed it to a tavern where he spotted a blonde angel drinking in a corner all by himself. Crowley couldn't have that, he bought a jug of whatever was the strongest and sauntered up to the table. 

"Hello Aziraphaless." He hissed out. The angel lit up at seeing him. 

"Crowley! I didn't expect you to return to earth for at least another decade. Are you drunk already?" Aziraphale beamed at him and Crowley just grinned his forked tongue flicked out. 

"Well the Dark Council decided that in exchange for my information on the Tower I'd get bumped up on the waiting lissst. Of courssse they couldn't let me off sssscott free, damnit." Crowley hissed out a little miffed. Aziraphale just looked at him.

"They ssstuck me with a forked tongue and turned my feet into ssssnakesssskin, sssorry. Sstill getting ussed to it." Crowley downed a glass of whatever was in the jug. 

Aziraphale looked away and stared into the distance. 

"Aziraphale? Are you alright?" Aziraphale didn't respond. Crowley reached his hand out and gently brushed Aziraphale's. Aziraphale jumped a little.

"Sorry what was that?" He asked flustered. 

"I assked if you were alright." Crowley looked very concerned. His pupils wide. 

"Yes, I will be at least. It's just, well it's just hard to forget about that tower and all those who suffered there." There was a gentle sadness in his words. 

"Yeah humansss have a talent for cruelty, but the Tower is gone as are the people who ran it. It'ss ok to talk about it Angel." Crowley held out his hand and Aziraphale took it in friendship. 

Raphael had been insistent on the angels expressing their feelings so that they could heal better. Pretty much all of them turned it into anger at humanity, it would fade with time and a break from earth. But Aziraphale had been assigned to Earth not long after he returned to heaven.

However he would find that discussing what happened with a friend would come to help him love earth again. Even if he grew to be shy and awkward around humans. Crowley and Aziraphale chatted into the night, the longer they talked the happier Aziraphale became and the less Crowley hissed. That is until they were both too drunk to speak coherently at all. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Crowley is at his core a demon. And demons love chaos, fear and misery. It's an intoxicating scent. It enrhalls them, Crowley is no exception except for the fact that he would prefer to see it from people who deserve to be punished than from innocent or just plain normal people. 
> 
> Kudos and Comments on enjoyed and Constructive criticism is welcome. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my stories.

**Author's Note:**

> In this verse Crowley was not Raphael.


End file.
